IPv6 Testing Sites and Tools

So, World IPv6 Day is just under a month away. You already have IPv6 connectivity, right? How do you know that everything will work correctly when the big day arrives? You will need to do some testing.

A number of enthusiastic engineers across the world have set up public IPv6 sites that you can use to perform all manner of tests. I would like to tell you about some of my personal favorites, and invite you to tell me about your own. Please note that Cisco manages none of the tools mentioned here, and as such cannot offer any assurances about their suitability for use on your network, so insert your own dire sounding legal disclaimers here before continuing.

Can You Connect?

For a quick “Am I Ready?” test, http:/omgipv6day.com/ provides a simple Yes-or-No assessment of your web browser’s ability to access IPv6 enabled sites on World IPv6 Day. Here is my attempt to connect with an impaired IPv6 tunnel:

As you can see, that site refers users to its companion site http://test-ipv6.com/ for a much more detailed test of your connectivity capability in order to help you untangle any problems that could arise.

In this case, I happen to actually have a global IPv6 address assigned on my device, but the server does not detect it since the IPv6 path is impaired. Upon repairing the malfunctioning IPv6, http://omgipv6day.com/ reports:

The imperfect 9/10 score arises from that fact that my device makes all of its DNS queries over IPv4. Those of you demanding a perfect score can configure your local DNS servers to speak IPv6 and set your clients to use the IPv6 protocol for DNS. If you rely on a 3rd party DNS service, demand that they support IPv6.

There is a similarly named but completely independent test site called http://ipv6-test.com/ which not only provides also a quick IPv6 connectivity check but additionally provides a comparative speed test of your IPv4 and IPv6 paths. That site will also perform a connectivity check to AAAA enabled web sites.

It works! I want to brag about my IPv6!

Cisco’s own Eric Vyncke has set up the IPv6 Challenge Facebook application where you can brag about your IPv6 capability on your Facebook wall and encourage your friends to get connected. Add an IPv6 Enabled Logo to your website to declare its functionality. Get involved in the IPv6 community.

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